‘The Americans’ Renewed for Last Two Seasons, FX Show to End in 2018

FX has renewed “The Americans” for a final two seasons, the network announced Wednesday.

A 13-episode fifth season will air in 2017. The sixth and last season will consist of 10 episodes and air in 2018. Three episodes remain in the series’ current fourth season.

Series creators Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields have also signed a new overall deal with FX Productions to develop their next series.

Created by Weisberg and Fields, “The Americans” stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Soviet spies living in a Washington, D.C.-area suburb during the Reagan era.

“Through its first four seasons, critics have lauded ‘The Americans’ as one of the best shows on television and, remarkably, a series that keeps getting better every year,” said FX original programming president Eric Schrier. “All credit for that achievement goes to everyone who has worked on the show, and especially co-showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, Graham Yost, our brilliant stars Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Noah Emmerich, Allison Wright, Holly Taylor, Annet Mahendru and the ensemble cast for their incomparable performances every season. We have no doubt that this two-season order will allow Joe and Joel to tell this story to its perfect conclusion. On behalf of our producing partners at Fox 21 Television Studios and Amblin TV, we look forward to a brilliant final act of the Jennings family saga.”

‘The Americans’ has been a critical favorite since its premiere in 2013. Although the show never became a major awards-season contender, it was recognized in 2015 with a Peabody Award, for outstanding achievement in drama at the Television Critics Association Awards, and for best drama series at the Critics Choice Television Awards. Actress Margo Martindale won a Primetime Emmy Award last year for guest actress in a drama series for her work on the show.

In her review of the season-four premiere in March, Variety‘s Maureen Ryan wrote of “The Americans,” “It’s long been in the top tier of TV dramas, and this year, it looks set to stay there.”

“I echo the sentiments of our friends at FX in congratulating Joe, Joel and everyone at The Americans on creating one of the most critically acclaimed, thought provoking and spectacularly acted television shows ever to be broadcast,” said Fox 21 president Bert Salke. “It remains our privilege to partner with FX Productions on this series, and while we are already mourning the eventual end, we are grateful to FX for this generous two-season pickup that enables the show to go out on its own terms and gives the creators time to craft a final stretch as satisfying as the show itself.”

Weisberg and Fields serve as executive producers on the series with Yost, Long, Stephen Schiff and Amblin Television’s Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. The series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions.

Ugh. This should be a lesson in how to take a good concept, an awesome first episode, and then turn it into the most boring thing on TV. The season ending and the episode last week are 2 hours I wish I had back.

I understand this is an article from last year, but with tonight’s episode of The Americans, I realized the series was winding down and when I checked to see if I was watching the last season or not, this was one of the top links to pop up in my Google search.

I’ve liked the plot overall, (barring that quasi-pedophilic bit in the middle, I realize that in the end Philip didn’t go there physically with the teenager… but I found it very uncomfortable to watch anyhow). However, I have appreciated this show’s attention to detail, and since I grew up in the DC-metro area in the 80’s it’s also been a bit nostalgic for me… and on a political note, the School of the Americas really should be brought up more often, especially since the US is still putting dictators into power around the globe.

While I realize this is a spy show and there cannot be a happy ending, I am glad that FX has at least given the writers the time to wrap things up properly.

Best show on TV. I’ve loved it since the beginning. And there are so many possibilities on how to end it! Will they defect? Will they be caught? Will they be killed by the FBI? Will they be killed by the Soviets themselves? I was wondering whether the story was beginning to wrap up because you can see how the noose is closing in on Philip with the FBI gaining bits and pieces about him, while at the same time, the Jennings’ are in a precarious position because the Pastor now knows their friend is an FBI agent. He had an ominous line in the last episode that “no one is ever really in control” which I took as foreshadowing of some sort.

At the end of the day, there can be no happy ending for the Jennings. They are, after all, classic anti-heroes and they have done so many dark things. For me, this series has taken the legacy of the Sopranos even another step further. That is, criminals and people who do bad things are explained as the complex beings they are, not just as caricatures who are always bad or always criminal. It’s also great how Stan and Burov have a mutual respect for one another and realize, that despite ideology, that they would probably be friends if they weren’t on opposite side of the political spectrum.

All in all, it seems inevitable that Stan will find out who they are. The question is, will he bring them in, kill them, be killed by then, live in mutual silence? It’s going to be an exciting final two seasons before we find out!

Paige is a young woman, being a teenager is hard enough, but when your parents are Russian spies , imagine the internal turmoil she must be going thru. She is a thoughtful, introspective person.The young actress playing her is doing a great job!!

I’m quite surprised that FX original programming president Eric Schrier would offer congratulations to many cast members by name, including a teenage member of the cast many have never heard of before this show, and yet fail to include in that quote industry veteran Richard Thomas, one of the only name actors in the show, and also someone with a key role in the overall story.

Problem with posting something like this is that the reason involves spoilers from this season. But Thomas isn’t mentioned because he isn’t in the last two seasons, which is the focus of the renewal announcement.

I’d like The Americans to go on for several more seasons. Its a great show with a great cast.Can’t you write enough scripts to last thru at least 2020.I look forward to it every Tuesday, i don’t want it to end this soon. Everyone works together so well. There aren’t that many great TV shows on to watch, but this is one of them!.The show doesn’t drag, it flows the way it should for that ERA. I don’t think everyone understands that !!

It’s nearing the end of the 5th season and is pretty much over. The Berlin Wall comes down and our intelligence agencies run Russian Intelligence out of northern VA. Can’t really blame the writers for being unable to prevent reality from catching up with the show. It’s time for Liz, Philip and the kids to get on a plane and go home to Moscow.